6 am or 6 pm at the corner of 11th and Holly in East Nashville. It's going to be hot, so start hydrating now.

Being Good Neighbors: Cyclists

Our friends, the cyclists

Imagine walking or running with no sidewalks. No physical separation from cars that weigh 10 or 20 times more and moving 2 or 20 times faster. Unfortunately, in many areas of Nashville that is the case, but that's almost always the case for cyclists. Because of this some cyclists choose to ride on the sidewalks or not ride at all. Some places have some paint on the road reminding drivers bicycles are allowed but cars often don't observe the minimum 3 foot passing law.

Although there are currently a few protected bike lanes for cyclists in Nashville (28th/31st Connector), there are more in the works. Davidson Street will soon have separation for pedestrians and cyclists.

But on these shared, designated areas for cyclists and peds, it can be a challenge for cyclists and pedestrians to navigate around each other while enjoying some protection from automobiles. Cyclists need to ding their bell or say "On your Left", and pedestrians need to stay right. Look behind before passing someone, just as you hopefully would on the interstate, and stay right after. Remind other peds to stay right. Everywhere.

For example, on many of our runs we go down the Lillian Street [dog-park] greenway descending into Shelby Park. Often we forget that this is a shared resource and as we run down into the park we spread out and take up the entire width of the path. We should welcome this protection from the road, but remember that our friends the cyclists use this path as well. This goes for all the Shelby Park greenways. Stay right and always make sure there is room for a cyclist to pass on your left.

A few tips for us Sharing our own Road, and remembering that cyclists are our biggest allies in bargaining for safer infrastructure.

There is going to be free pizza after the run...

But you'll need to head down to 3 Crow if you want a cold beverage... Just thought I'd let you know.

East Tomato 5k

Once again, there are very few excuses for you not to show up to this race/festival. We consider the Tomato 5k our “home” race, so we need to show up en masse. That means every single one of you needs to sign up! When and how do you ask? Here are two options: (1) just sign up here or (2) sign up at Yazoo on Thursday and get free beer.* Read below.

“You’re invited on Thursday July 23rd at 5:00pm to Yazoo Brewery. Anyone who comes and registers for the Tomato 5k race gets 2 free drinks and we also just want to hang out with YMCA staff, friends, family… whoever! So please stop by and invite everyone you can. It should be a lot of fun and a good chance to take a breather during this crazy summer. If you have any questions, let me know! Hope to see you all there!”